CAREER: Wearable Joint Sounds Sensing for Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

幼年特发性关节炎（JIA）是儿童关节炎最常见的形式，在美国影响超过50，000名儿童。JIA的症状和进展在个体之间差异很大，并且根据疾病的程度有许多可能的治疗选择。然而，在逐个患者的基础上诊断JIA是困难的，因为评估病情的可靠工具还不存在，治疗往往是一个试错的过程。该项目将专注于开发可穿戴关节健康传感系统，持续提供诊所内外关节状况的数据。PI将专注于提高测量和分析运动过程中关节产生的声音的能力。这项研究将检验这样一个假设，即随着治疗的改善，关节健康状况会改善，关节声音会减少。使用可穿戴设备收集的声音将被分析并与患者的关节健康进行比较，以了解可用于提高诊断能力的可能关系。研究和教育是通过在传感支架设计过程中纳入本科研究团队，并在格鲁吉亚理工学院的课程中纳入去识别数据集分析来整合的。此外，PI将在他的实验室接待K-12教师开发科学和工程模块，以收回他们的教室。Inan博士的长期职业目标是从根本上推进可穿戴关节健康传感领域的知识，从而为关节疾病患者（如关节炎）提供个性化治疗和设备。为了实现这一目标，Inan博士的研究目标是：（1）设计和实现一种能够在诊所和家中准确测量关节声音的传感支架;（2）研究量化JIA患者和健康对照者关节声音特征之间差异的算法;以及（3）通过将传感支具送回家并评估在整个治疗过程中测量的关节声音特征的变化来对JIA患者进行可行性研究。PI的初步数据表明，关节音可能作为关节炎患者的生理生物标志物。该项目将首先开发一种可穿戴的异质传感器阵列，用于具有足够电池寿命的声学传感。实验将收集关节炎患者和健康患者的关节声音数据。图挖掘算法将被应用于分析高维关节声发射数据，并将数据与关节健康相关联。项目完成后，Inan博士将开发出一种新的生理测量工具，用于根据JIA患者的具体症状和治疗反应进行诊断和治疗，最终改善他们的生活质量，最大限度地减少永久性关节损伤。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common form of childhood arthritis and affects more than 50,000 children in the US. Symptoms and progression of JIA vary greatly between individuals, and there are many possible treatment options depending on the extent of disease. However, diagnosing JIA on a patient-by-patient basis is difficult because reliable tools for assessing the condition do not yet exist, and treatment is often a trial-and-error process. This project will focus on developing wearable joint health-sensing systems that continuously provide data on joint condition, inside and out of the clinic. The PI will focus on advancing the ability to measure and analyze sounds produced by joints during movement. The study will test the hypothesis that joint sounds decrease as joint health improves with therapy. Sounds collected with the wearable devices will be analyzed and compared with patients' joint health to understand possible relationships that can be used to improve diagnostic capabilities. Research and education are integrated through the incorporation of undergraduate research teams in the sensing brace design process and incorporating de-identified dataset analysis in courses at Georgia Institute of Technology. Additionally, the PI will host K-12 teachers in his lab to develop science and engineering modules to take back their classrooms.Dr. Inan's long-term career goal is to fundamentally advance knowledge in the field of wearable joint health sensing and, thereby, enable personalized therapies and devices for patients with joint disorders, such as arthritis. Toward this goal, Dr. Inan's research objectives are to: (1) design and implement a sensing brace capable of accurately measuring the sounds of the joints in the clinic and at home; (2) investigate algorithms for quantifying differences between the characteristics of joint sounds of patients with JIA and healthy controls; and (3) conduct a feasibility study in patients with JIA by sending the sensing brace home and evaluating the changes in joint sound characteristics measured throughout treatment. The PI's preliminary data suggests that joint sounds can potentially serve as a physiological biomarker for patients with arthritis. The project will first develop a wearable heterogenous sensor array for acoustical sensing with sufficient battery life. Experiments will collect joint sound data from JIA-affected and healthy patients. Graph mining algorithms will be applied to analyze the high-dimensional joint acoustical emissions data and correlate the data with joint health. At project completion, Dr. Inan will have developed a new physiological measurement tool for diagnosing and treating JIA patients based on their specific symptoms and responses to treatment, ultimately improving their quality of life and minimizing permanent joint damage.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.